22-year-old Japanese tennis star Naomi Osaka earned $37.4 million from prize money and endorsements in the past 12 months, becoming the world’s highest-paid female athlete ever.
She displaced American tennis player and her rival Serena Williams, who earned a total of $36 million. In the past, Maria Sharapova held the record by earning $29.7 million in 2015 while Williams has been the highest-paid female athlete for all the following years till the past year.
Interestingly, Osaka played against Williams in the U.S Open final in 2018, winning her first grand slam. Subsequently, she won the 2019 Australian Open, making her one of the most sought-after tennis players. In the process, she also became the first Japanese player ever to win a Grand Slam and the first Asian player to be ranked number one.
The two-time Grand Slam winner landed with lucrative deals with brands such as Procter & Gamble, All Nippon Airways, Yonex, and Nissin Foods and according to Forbes, she currently has 15 endorsement partners.
She ranked 29th on the 2020 Forbes list of the world’s highest-paid athletes. The entire list is due to release shortly.
Who is Naomi Osaka?
Born in Japan on 16th October 1997 to a Haitian-American father and a Japanese mother, Osaka and her family moved to the United States at the age of 3. She turned pro in 2014 at the age of 15 and broke into the WTA top 40 in 2016. She was also awarded the “Newcomer of the Year” at the 2016 WTA Awards.
Known for her powerful serves, Osaka is certainly a force to reckon with in the women’s tennis arena.
We wish her a very fruitful career ahead!
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